1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a sensor including a detecting element having a plate-type shape extending in an axial direction and having electrode terminal portions formed on its rear end side, a plurality of metallic terminal members respectively connected to the electrode terminal portions of the detecting element, and an insulating separator surrounding at least a portion of the detecting element and the metallic terminal members and which causes the electrode terminal portions of the detecting element and the metallic terminal members to come into contact with one another.
2. Description of the Related Art
A sensor having a detecting element, metallic terminal members, and an insulating separator is known as a conventional sensor.
The insulating separator surrounds at least a portion of the detecting element and the metallic terminal members, and is adapted to cause the electrode terminal portions of the detecting element and the metallic terminal members to come into contact with one another inside the insulating separator.
A sensor has been proposed in which boundary portions (87, 89) are provided inside the insulating separator so that the metallic terminal members do not come into contact with one another in arranging the plurality of metallic terminal members in the insulating separator (refer to International Publication No. 2005/029057 (see FIGS. 1, 4, and 5) (corresponding to US2007/0052862A1)).
3. Problems to be Solved by the Invention
However, as the number of metallic terminal members increases in conjunction with the trend toward higher performance of the detecting element, a region available for suitably arranging respective metallic terminal members in the insulating separator is decreased.
Namely, since the boundary portions provided inside the insulating separator define a narrow region, it is difficult to directly view the interior state of the insulating separator. Consequently, it is difficult to confirm whether or not the metallic terminal members retain their original arrangement.
In addition, in a case where the insulating separator includes an element insertion hole penetrating in an axial direction, there are cases where a metallic terminal member which has already been arranged in the element insertion hole hinders the inserting operation of a metallic terminal member which is inserted at a later time. This problem becomes more apparent as the number of metallic terminal members increases.
For these reasons, if the number of metallic terminal members increases, the possibility of the metallic terminal members being arranged at misaligned positions in the insulating separator becomes high. If the metallic terminal members are misaligned, the connection between the metallic terminal member and the detecting element (specifically, an electrode terminal portion) possibly becomes faulty, making it impossible to properly output a detection signal (sensor signal) from the detecting element to an external device or the like.
Accordingly, the present invention has been made in view of the above-described problems, and an object thereof is to provide a sensor having an insulating separator which allows for easy arrangement of metallic terminal members at predetermined positions.